Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-08-04
THE CUFF AND COLLAR.
NIMRlE FINGERED GIRLS WHO EARN
GOOD WAGES EACH WEEK.

Corner Turning an Art In Making Col
lar.-lroner~ aud starcher, Well Paid.
Woman. starch Making >ccr-t-Wage..
Who has not heard 1.-The song Of the
Shirt but the song of the cui! and col
| lar remains vet 10 he written. and the
carol Of the suspender would make an eN-
cellent new poem. The wicked man who
purchases shirt for 81, which some poor
woman has made for five cents. il also
righteous because he wears a collar made
by girl who earns s35 week and cuffs
turned out at $25 weeks wages.
You don't behere that collar maker
can earn $3J a week. said the repre-
sentative of a large house that deals in
these trifies. 1t does sound rather large,
and | will admit that there are only
couple of hundred girls that know of
earning that amount for that work. but il
you doubt my verscity, why go up to our
factory and ask the girls themselves.
You know the great secret Of making q
collar is 10 turn the points perfectly
square, and there are very few women
who can do that. The best collars are
made four-fold-that is, there are two
thicknesses Of linen in between the outer
coverings, and it takes considerable skill
To stitch them, turn them and stitch
again The girl whose fingers and eyes
can do the work nicely need never lack
for living as long as men need collars"
Inquiry at one or two collar factories in
town revealed the truth of the young
mans remarks. The girls who make the
first quality Of linen collars earn on an
average from x25 10 $35 !; week. Their
work is all piece work, that is they are
paid by the dozen, and the amount they
earn depends largely upon how much time
they spend each day at the machine
The cuff makers come next in price to
the collar makers. The work has not to
be SO perfect, but badly turned corner is
not accepted, and adopts earn from $15 to
$50 a week. \ good collar maker can
turn out about ten dozen collars day.
sometimes more. Five dozen pairs OF
cuffs is considered an excellent day work.
OF course this does not include buttonhole
making, which is done by machine.
Washing and ironing have not always
been considered lucrative employment, yet
We have girls in our collar and cum factory
who make Sl5 TO SIS week at it - said
the proprietor of one OF the largest fac
tories in the state Every one knows
how perfectly new collars are ironed.
Some of the work is done by machinery,
but most Of it by hand. The starching il
the principal thing to get right, and good
starcher, who does no other work. can
make fully as much as an ironer and often
more.
A STARCH MAKING SECRET
''One girl in our factory has a secret
way Of making the starch, and allows no
one in the room but her little sister while
she is making it. She puts a certain guam
tity Of boraX or wax in it that glosses the
linen beautifully. and We pay her SOS
week just for her talent. When her little
sister gets old enough and has learned the
secret well We shall take her into our en-
ploy''
what do the medium class ironers and
staIchers maker was asked
Very few fall below 81, but / think
the average is about $40. The work is
very tiresome, Of course, but most Of our
girls seem 10 stand it well, and l never
heard Of one of them dying Of consump-
tion. Indeed We took in a frail little
thing of eighteen who had been dress |
maker. The doctor said perhaps the work !
might save her. and it did. She is now as
had a sick day"
1t would seem from this information as |
though laundry work was not the drudgery |
it is thought 10 be. 1t was learned that |
the ironers at the many Troy laundries in |
this city earn from $40 to $I5 on an aver |
age, and extra good ones more. cent |
for each collar or cuff is frequently paid |
the best ironers, and some Of them iron as |
many as 800 u day. This, Of course, by |
machine.
Suspender makers are another class Of
women workers, who, if proficient, can
man an excellent living. 1t is said that
there are only two women known to the
trade who can set in the small extra piece
of leather at the buttonhole on the finer
class Of suspenders. This piece is an ex-
ira lining to hold the button hole stitching
well, and must be placed without =
wrinkle. These two workers make some
$40 week. One is the wife of well TO
do clothier and works for one firm only.
Ten cents a dozen is the magnificent
sum paid for stitching the cheapest sus-
penders: 81 day is considered fair wages
at that class Of work. A dollar dozen
is about the usual price paid for the best
class of work, and very smart woman
can make 81 day.
NeCAties were at one time excellent pay, |
bu: they are no longer the intricate thugs
they were in the days Of '.shirt covers"
and only few women earn more than
living making them.-New York Journal